Good golly this is a monstrously fine-tuned brew. I know it's hubris to suggest tech choices to such a high profile decklist, but Dimir is all about ignoring boundaries, right?

Could Mystic Remora be a better choice than Dark Confidant? It has a lower casting cost (which Lazav cares about), it can draw you multiple cards per round (DC only gets 1 at the cost of some life), and Remora's cumulative upkeep can be dodged by morphing Lazav into something else before your turn begins.

Speaking of cumulative upkeep, have you tried out Herald of Leshrac as a method of ramp? His cumulative upkeep steal lands with the intended (read: avoidable) downside of giving them back when he leaves the battlefield. Simply shapeshift with Lazav, yoink everyone's lands, then shapeshift into something else to avoid giving the lands back. Then again, this is a very fast way to make enemies with the whole table.

Scorched Ruins is another possible source of ramp. Late game cares more about dumping mana into Lazav's ability than tapping for colored mana, yes? The ruins can provide Lazav with the fuel he needs, with only a minor cost some color fixing. Four colorless is the magic number needed for the Ornithoper / Wall of Blood / Banehound play, and Scorched Ruins gets you there in a single tap during the Combat Damage Step.

I won't suggest Dauthi Voidwalker or Opposition Agent as other utility creatures for Laz to copy. They're high profile cards, and I'm sure you already evaluated them.

Overall, this is an amazing deck and primer. Thank you dearly for showing the (admittedly expensive) way forward for those of us who want to build around Magic's smallest skinwalking super spy.

Peace. ✌️

Wow! Thank you so much for the kind words!

Suggestions are always more than welcome. I'm definitely not omniscient. In fact, I didn't even think about the almighty Mystic Remora , which is a card I play in a few other decks. It is definitely worth including due to its raw power level. I'm not sure if it's going to replace DC, as I kind of like the flexibility of being able to copy him from the graveyard in the late game. Phyrexian Arena is probably what I'll end up cutting. After all, the average CMC of the deck is low enough that I can afford DC over the Arena. On the same note, I'm considering Ad Nauseam as a way to refuel in the late game. It shouldn't hurt too much. When you say I can dodge Remora's cumulative upkeep by morphing Lazav before my turn begins, what do you actually mean?

Scorched Ruins is yet another awesome suggestion. I particularly like that it taps for because, as you said, it's the magic number for many of our combos. This makes it a lot better than Lotus Vale and Lotus Field . It's a risky play, considering the chance to get blown up by land destruction. However, I think it's worth the risk.

Herald of Leshrac does have a very nice synergy with Lazav, but unfortunately his 7 CMC is way too high for this build. After all, it's the same mana cost of Phage the Untouchable , which can technically kill an opponent with a single attack. However, for a more "casual" build, it's a very fun (for you) card to try out.

Speaking of different kind of builds, that's the reason why I'm not playing Dauthi Voidwalker and Opposition Agent . They are both extremely powerful cards that work particularly well at high power tables, but they would take the deck in a different direction from the one I've chosen. This build is all about killing opponents as fast and safely as possible. I don't really care about interacting with their game plans, because the base idea is "kill them before they can start doing their things". However, mine is definitely not the only way of playing Lazav. I can perfectly see a more staxy build work well with him, where you include lots of cheap hatebears and deny your opponents' resources. It will be less explosive, but viable nonetheless.

Thanks again for your suggestions! They'll make the deck a lot better!

Artatras

By "dodge the cumulative upkeep" I just mean you don't have to put age counters on Lazav if you shapeshift him into a creature other than Mystic Remora before your upkeep rolls around. For example, you could shapeshift Laz into the Remora during your end step, reap the draws while your opponents all play their cards, then at the end of the turn directly before yours, shift Lazav into Ornithoper or something. Your upkeep passes with Lazav free of his Remora persona, so you don't have to put any age counters on him. Just do your regular Voltron sequencing during your turn via Banehound, Wall of Blood, etc, then during your end step shapeshift Lazav back into Remora to passively draw more cards.

Ebb n' flow gameplay, basically. Lazav morphs into reactive cards like Remora and Hullbreacher to recover resources on your opponent's turns, then morphs into your Voltron pieces on your turn.

Ad Nauseum certainly sounds like a nifty choice for late game hand replenishing. I myself am going to try out Jace's Archivist and Blood Scrivener . They're reusable and Lazav can copy them for less mana than an Ad Nauseum activation. Then again, Scrivener's draw is highly conditional and copying Archivist means tapping Lazav instead of attacking someone. Ad Nauseum might be better after all since it doesn't need your Commander on the battlefield.

Will have to keep testing. I know I suggested Scorched Ruins in my last comment, but I've since noticed the Vector Asp / Phyrexian Dreadnought oneshot needs a black mana to activate Asp's lingering Infect self buff. The Ruins only produces colorless, so although they still make the Wall of Blood / Banehound play doable, the card remains a debatable include. The monetary price to acquire it is another factor (as if that matters in a deck where Phyrexian Dreadnought and Intuition are mandatory includes).

My pockets aren't as deep as yours, so I'll try to trim my own build's budget with Scheming Symmetry and Wishclaw Talisman . Thanks again for this deck's ghoulishly clever combo primer, and wish me luck as I labor to lob Lazav at my opponents.

Casketbase77 uuuh... I think you are a bit confused here. Mystic Remora isn't a creature, it's an enchantment ^^'

Casketbase77

Oh, now I see what you mean. Well, unfortunately Lazav can only copy creatures and Remora is an enchantment. However, it is still well worth the inclusion as a powerful standalone draw spell.

As regards Scorched Ruins , it's true that some of our combos require coloured mana. However, four colourless mana is still very useful. I think we should see it more as a ritual for when we want to go in rather than a regular ramp source.

I'm all with you when it comes to card prices. I've been quite lucky on that aspect. Cards cost a lot less here in Europe, and I've managed to buy a Phyrexian Dreadnought and Intuition for 20€ and 30€ respectively less than three years ago, before all the Reserved List buyout nonsense. If I were to buy them right now, with the huge jump in prices, it would be impossible. Intuition is one of the most powerful cards in the deck but, being a tutor, can be replaced somewhat effectively. Dreadnought is the only mandatory inclusion, but I can't recommend spending more than a hundred dollars on a card that can only see play in this very specific deck.

Good luck with your dark schemes. May the shadows be with you! :)

Artatras Oh good lord; I confused Mystic Remora with Deadeye Tracker , a completely different advantage-accruing 1 drop I was testing out.

Excuse me while I go find a Drowned Catacomb to lay face-down in for awhile.

So I was searching an old box of cards and I found Mistfolk . What do think of it for this style of deck.

Dromar39

A really cool card that works perfectly with this deck. Unfortunately it is a little suboptimal considering we can give Lazav shroud for just instead of , but it will be fun to try out!